Dinah Rutledge is back and even more fabulous in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’s final season. Dinah will continue to help Susie keep her business afloat, and as Alfie Fuller says, Dinah’s “doing the damn thing” in these last episodes. HollywoodLife spoke EXCLUSIVELY with Alfie about Dinah’s journey ahead.
“Dinah’s getting more responsibility as Susie’s assistant. She’s still running the office. She’s still having her chaotic outside life. She’s just doing the damn thing,” Alfie said. “She’s so competent. I’d like a little bit of that in my personal life. She’s so with it. She can handle anything.”
The actress also teased that Dinah and Susie “get more entangled in each other’s lives. The relationship continues to deepen and grow.” This will give us more incredible screen time between Alfie and Alex Borstein, which Alfie has called a “surreal” experience.
“I’ve been a fan of Alex’s since I was in middle school watching her on MADtv. It’s kind of surreal that I’m working alongside her. She welcomed me into the fold seamlessly. I was a fan of the show since its introduction to the world in 2017, so I was already very familiar with the pacing and the tone,” Alfie raved.
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, like all of Amy Sherman-Palladino and Dan Palladino’s projects, has their signature fast-paced dialogue. Alfie pointed out that on some sets the scripts are “flexible,” but Palladino scripts are “written specifically for a reason for pace and sound and storytelling. I liken it to Shakespeare. I come from the theater and I’m a big Shakespeare nerd. I haven’t done it in so long, so it was like digging back into that muscle of speaking the words as they were written and finding the humanity in the character within such confines that would throw another actor off potentially, but I really thrive in that environment.”
The Emmy Award-winning show is coming to an end after 5 seasons. In a hectic world where shows are getting canceled prematurely every day, Mrs. Maisel is ending on its own terms. “I’m proud as a fan and as a cast member. You’re right, it’s so rare. We’re almost always wanting more from our shows. I’m just really proud to be a part of a show that’s wrapping up fully and completely,” Alfie told HollywoodLife.
Alfie revealed that she does know how the series ends, but she stayed tight-lipped. As for whether she was satisfied, Alfie replied, “Of course, I was satisfied. I was sad. I was happy. I was proud. But yes, I was satisfied, especially with all these characters that we’ve come to love over the last 5 to 6 years.”
The wardrobe of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel has become just as iconic as the characters themselves. “There’s something so special about period pieces. As much as character work I could have done, it doesn’t quite all come together until the stockings and the period-era underwear and the girdle and the undershirt and the bullet bra and the suit that’s so well made. That’s when I’m like, wow, I’m Dinah,” Alfie said.
Alfie noted that she’s a “fashion girl” and collects vintage pieces, so stepping into Dinah’s clothes was a “dream” for her. She admitted she’s actually been inspired a bit by the ’60s-era wardrobe. “I actually have started wearing shapewear if I’m wearing a nice dress. I think Maisel has influenced me because it does make me sit up just a little bit sharper and sexier, I think,” she said. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel season 5 premieres April 15 on Prime Video.